Sanitätskorps der Reichswehr
The Medical Corps provides medical support for the Reichwehr as a whole. Forces Medicine is almost entirely limited to the practice of military medicine (i.e. - treating battlefield casualties) in the theater of operations (TO). Outside the TO and all other fields of medicine, the Corps relies on the support of the civilian Staatlicher Gesundheitsdienst (National Health Service). One practical effect of this arrangement is that Forces Medical personnel usually have little to do in their chosen field of battlefield trauma unless there are soldiers actually engaging the enemy somewhere. Therefore, many Medical personnel are regularly assigned to NHS hospitals or clinics. When needed, these personnel are swiftly transferred to their pre-positioned equipment and deployed to the field as an Army Medical unit. Fields of Service of the Medical Corps It takes a team of health care professionals for the Medical Corps to provide “Best care anywhere” in the field for the Army. Thus the Medical Corps is actually made up of 5 different Fields of Service; Medical, Nursing, Medical Specialist, Combat Medic & Medical Services. While the respective field commands are responsible for the deployment and administration of the Medical Unit, the individual fields on the other hand is responsible for the training and doctrine of the various professionals within their field. While one may argue that the current Corps is not as comprehensive enough when compared to the other health care organizations, one must not forget that the Medical Corps only focuses on Military Medicine. Medical Commands The Medical Corps is organized and divided into 3 Commands for administrative and deployment purposes. Each Command is commanded by either the Deputy or Assistant Surgeon-General. Feldsanitätswesens (FSW) The Field Medical Service provides detached medical personnel to field units. For example, every Infantry or Combat Engineer Section has one Kampf-Sanitäter (Combat Medic) assigned to it. Personnel attached to the units are usually considered organic to the units and under their direct operational command. The FSW Headquarters is the only unitsized organization within the command. They are responsible for all matters of coordination, training, assignments and support, etc. They are also responsible for the coordination and training of combat lifesavers in the unit. Most all other assignments in the FSW are given to only one or two detached Medical Personnel at a time. FSW Personnel generally undergo cross training in the Service Branch where they will serve. For instance, K-San's will attend Armour School before field assignment with a Armoured Platoon. For this reason, Medics are usually highly respected by the units they support. Sanitätseinheitenkommando (SEK) The Medical Unit Command is responsible for all the personnel and equipment, which deploy as Medical Units. FSW personnel in their disparate assignments actually make up about half of the Medical Branch, but are not assigned en masse as medical units. The SEK is the next largest command and are responsible for the various Medical Units, including Medical Close Support Battalions (Sanitätsbatallione) and Mobile Field Hospitals (Feldlazarett). When not in training or operational duties, SEK personnel are often assigned to serve in civilian health facilities while not deploying as Army Medical Units, but all are pre-assigned to units with prepositioned equipment in various places throughout the State. This is to ensure that their medical skills are always relevant and maintained to the highest level. On a moment’s notice, these personnel will be reassigned from their civilian posts to join up with their equipment and deploy wherever needed. On average, these units can be on station and operational within 72-96 hours. Ausbildungs, Forschung und Lehrekommando (AFL) ''' The Training, Doctrine and Research Command are responsible for the training and education of Medical Corps personnel from all 5 fields. They develop doctrine, establish standards, and research to meet the demands of the Army. The Sanitätsschule (School of Military Medicine) is the cradle of all Medical Personnel and provides training through a full spectrum of courses, from basic to advance and also post-graduate studies in military medicine. This Command also conducts research on all medical and physiological aspects of soldier performance. Units Training '''Officers Medical Corps Officers begin their military careers with all other potential oficers by attending the Initial Officers Course at the Hauptkadettenanstalt Groß-Lichterfelde for 48 weeks. Unlike other officers, Medical officers do not attend the Military Technical Academy to obtain their degrees. Instead they attend the Faculty of Medicine of the civilan Universitätsmedizin Berlin, which is affliated to the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität. The third phase of Medical Corps Officer training takes place at the Militärmedizinische Akademie Bad Saarow (Academy of Military Medcine), where they are introduced to the organizational structure and history of the Sanitätskorps and the unique circumstances of practicing military medicine. Environmental training, an operational requirement, includes field exercises that may take place anywhere in the world. The current Medical Corps Officer Courses are (course length in parenthesis): *Bioscience Officer (24 months) *Basic Dental Officer (4 weeks) *Health Care Administration Officer *Basic Medical Officer *Basic Nursing Officer *Basic Pharmacy Officer *Basic Physiotherapy Officer (12 weeks) *Basic Social Work Officer (12 months) Medical Corps Officers may apply for the opportunity to specialize their medical practice in exchange for additional years of service. As they progress in their career, Medical Corps Officers who demonstrate the required ability and potential will be offered advanced training. Enlisted Basic training for enlisted personnel assigned to the Medical Corps consists of the 12 week Basic Military Skills Course at the School of Infantry (Fußtruppenschule). For recruits from outside the Germanosphere ther is an additional 11 weeks of German language and cultural training. Basic Occupational training is carried out at the Militärmedizinische Akademie. The courses vary in length, and currently consist of: *Combat Medical Technician (12 months) *Dental Technician Course (4 weeks) *Medical Laboratory Technologist (12 months) *Medical Radiation Technologist (12 months) Links *Neue Deutsche Reich *Deutsches Reichswehr Category:Military of Prussia Category:Freistaat Preussen